Bravery and Ambition
by anna.burks.39
Summary: [Takes place after Son]. When Jonas fled the communities all those years ago, he had no idea that it would mean fighting a war he was against, forced into an alliance with four people he did not trust, all struggling to defend the last shred of freedom left in the world.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was the kind of night straight out of a nightmare, with the wind whipping around the trees, creating an eerie howling that echoed all around the edge of town, fog settling on the ground and in the air making it impossible to see where one was going, the moon ducking behind ominous black clouds, leaving him submerged in total darkness. The cold was numbing, ripping through his fur cape and thick velvet tunic and stabbing at his throat every time he dared to take a breath. His mount kept whinnying nervously and trying to back up, making progress rather slow, and by the stallion's side Guerrier, to brave and well trained to show any sign of fear and weakness, kept his ear perked, his muscles tense, his lips pulled back in a constant snarl, flashing his white sharp teeth, ready to attack on a moment's notice. Behind him he heard his charge let out a small whimper and the arms around his waist tightened. Any sane man would have stayed inside tonight, wrapped up in animal skins and surrounded by family, for tonight only reeked of evil and darkness, as if the Immortal Spirit had sensed what heinous crime the man was about to commit, not to mention the two he had already committed and had created the appropriate setting for it to happen in.

Soon enough they would be finding the bodies, laid out side by side on the bed, with their eyes closed and their arms laid crossed over their chests, he'd even gave the paramour the crown she always craved, only it was one he had fastened out of thorny rose stems, seeing as it was impossible for him to let her wear the actual crown while the true queen was still alive, sleeping quite peacefully in her apartments on the other end of the manor. Still he had worked hard on his thorny crown, and he was rather proud of how it had turned out, it looked rather fitting nestled in the woman's golden locks that she had so prided herself on. He knew his name might come up in the talks afterward, after all he had enough motive and people knew it, and he was extremely capable of killing, he'd been trained from a young age to do just that. But he also knew that just as soon as his name came up and it would be dismissed as ridiculous, after all, wasn't he a devoted son to both of them? Attentive to his mother and respectful of his father? Hadn't he done their every bidding? Listened to their every whim? Hadn't he married the girl he despised because it was their wish? Publicly condemned his sister as a whore? Kept his illicit relationships quiet? Didn't he send his precious daughters and son from court? Wasn't he everything the Immortal Spirit called sons to be? Obedient, respectful, dutiful, and attentive? No he could safely say that he would never formally be charged with the murder, especially after he claimed the crown for himself and got rid of anyone who questioned his right to rule. After all, illegitimate or not, he was the king's only son. And he had proved himself on the battlefield, and in the scheming world of politics that he was a capable ruler, and a deadly adversary. The people loved him, hailed him as a hero, they would quickly rally to his side should a dispute rise. No, now that the King was gone the crown was as good as his. Ten years of scheming and planning had finally paid off. He just hadn't planned on the night including a daring rescue of a girl from a group of men with some not so pure intentions.

"Are you scared Petite Mademoiselle?" he asked his young charge, turning to smile reassuringly at her. The girl had been whimpering throughout the whole trip, clutching to him and occasionally he could feel her face buried into his back, it was natural of course for this tiny waif of a thing to be scared, she was only nine after all and had just gone through what had to be the most terrifying experience in her life. But he thinks that she has handled the situation surprisingly well, not once had she cried or asked for her parents or brother and sister, instead she restrained herself to the occasional whimper and clinging, and when he turned to her he found that she stared at him with defiant silver-gray eyes, no sign of any true grief or fear flickered in her face.

"No Monsieur" she reassures him, tilting her chin up and immediately sitting up straighter in the saddle, reminding him of his little sister. He feels a bit of pity for the little girl, totally unaware of what was in store for her, of what kind of future he was leading her to. "I trust you."

"That's good" he says, twisting back around in his saddle, though it was probably anything but good. This child shouldn't be trusting him, this child should be jumping off this horse and running as fast as her legs could take her, in the opposite direction.

He remembers a time many years ago, when as a child, he done this very same thing with his own sister, dragging her to her damnation. He remembers clutching the girl to him and reassuringly whispering "It's okay Phee, trust me. Everything will be alright, I promise". Of course she had trusted him, he had never lied to her before, why should this time be any different?

But he had lied, and things hadn't turned out alright, not then, not for her, and they wouldn't now either, not for this small child, innocent of any crime but being in the wrong place in the wrong time. It was would take a monster of even a worse breed than himself not to feel something for this poor creature. After all he had known this child all his life. The youngest daughter of the Guard Commander and his beautiful serene wife. The jewel of the Alexandre family, they called her. She was thirteen years his junior, and in his younger years he had always thought of her affectionately and she had always admired him. He'd showered her with gifts and taught her to ride her first pony, shoot her first arrow, was her partner for her first dance, at one time his father even entered into talks with hers about a possible marriage. But even as a tot she showed herself to be cunning and defiant. By the time she was four or five her ambitious nature started to show, and at six her passionate side reared its head as well, and it was then that Fabian had started getting the dreams, dreams that named her "Mother of Legends" and her offspring as "Child That Destroyed a Nation", and six months later the man was getting his own reservations about the girl he had once adored. It had been overheard at a dinner party that she had asked the King, his father, who she would have to marry to become Queen after he and her aunt Ambre passed into the Immortal Spirit's arms. Had she been older such a comment could have been considered treasonous, and many believed it was enough to keep a weary eye on the child, but because she was just a girl the king had merely laughed at the comment and informed her that the crown would be impossible for her, since she was already betrothed to the young Gregoire heir, her friend Eloi. She could have dropped the subject then but she only insisted that somehow she was going to be queen. The king had laughed again, this time uneasily, and the girl's mother had given her a sharp reprimanding look. She had fallen quiet then, for even a girl as wild as she was, she still feared her gentle mother's glare. But something in her silver-grey eyes had told the man (who had been in attendance that night) that she hadn't given up, that she wasn't ever going to give up and ever since that night the girl had made him uneasy. He couldn't say what it was exactly, after all she was nothing more than a harmless nine year old girl, but something told him that the girl was dangerous. That there was something poisonous in her defiance, and that her ambitions were as deadly as his own. And that was a terrifying thing, considering that his ambitions drove him to murder.

And it was for that reason, more than the fact that thanks to the four dead men in the alley way a short while away she was no longer a virgin, and therefore no longer allowed to marry, that he was taking her to the Brothel, and a life of prostitution.

Because child or not, she was an enemy, and enemies, like his mother and father, like this girl's father, and like his three deceased uncles, had to be done away with.


	2. The Girl On The Path

Chapter One

"Do you really have to go?" Deirdre looked up at him sleepily, making for a very enticing vision, tempting him to fall back against the pillows and slipping back under the covers and into her warm embrace where he belonged. "Stay for a little longer please?" she sits up, not bothering to pull the covers up to keep herself modest, revealing the milky skin of her stomach, so different from the sun kissed skin that he saw on a day to day basis, and her delightfully round and perky breasts. The sight brings back flashes of the night before and Gabriel has to use every inch of will power he has not to succumb to her pleas to stay.

"I can't and you know it." He teases her, leaning over across the bed to kiss her briefly, chastely before returning to the task of slipping his trousers back on. "I promised mother that I would go get some firewood this morning before it got too hot."

Deirdre sighs and flops back down onto the bed, finally pulling her sheets up to her neck, probably punishing him in her own, Deirdre-like way, for refusing her. "Of course I would get stuck with mama's boy."

"Excuse me?" Gabriel laughs "stuck with? Since when were you stuck with me?"

"Since you turned down sex for your mother." She replies, turning over onto her stomach, one of her long muscled legs sticks out from the light green sheets. "How lame are you?"

Again Gabriel finds himself laughing, though he knows she is trying to annoy him now "Lame enough to be your boyfriend." He retorts. "Besides you know Nate will be up any minute now, and he would kill me if he found me in bed with his little sister."

Deirdre rolls her dark eyes "I'm the same age as him Gabe, we're twins."

"Doesn't matter" Gabriel shrugs "You came out second, you're younger, and I'll be dead if he knows I'm having sleepovers with you."

"Sleepovers?" Deirdre asks, arching an eyebrow "Is that what we're calling it now?"

"Yes. Seeing as I did sleepover."

Deirdre snorted "Well this has to be the most interesting sleep over I've ever had." She stretches her arms over her head and yawns.

"Me too" Gabriel agrees "now where is my shirt?"

"Right there" Desiree points to the wadded up homely fabric (so out of place with all her dainty laces and satins) laying haphazardly on her working desk "where you threw it last night. How many sleepovers have you even had Gabriel?"

Gabriel gets up, yawning and goes to retrieve his shirt "Define sleepover."

"Like the one we had last night" Deirdre gives him a mischievous grin, which he returns.

"Not including the three that I've had with you? Two." He wiggles two fingers in the air for her and then ticks them off as he names his previous lovers "Ayanna and Juno"

"Juno?" Deirdre wrinkles her nose in distaste.

"What do you have against Juno Dee?" he asks "She's a nice girl. Pretty too."

"I guess" Deirdre shrugs "I just always thought she looked kind of…..I don't know, bland pretty."

"Bland pretty?" Gabriel asks, slipping on his shirt "Explain."

"You know, she's pretty but there is nothing striking about it. She's just…well pretty."

Gabriel thinks of his friend Juno, with her big smile and bright blue eyes, Deirdre spoke the truth, in a way, Juno didn't have anything striking about her physically at least, but there still something about her that left an impression. Her easy infectious laugh, the way she'd cock her head to the side when confused and furrow her brows. The little squeak she made when surprised or startled. There was plenty of things that made her attractive enough to Gabriel, at least attractive enough to have a romp under the covers with. Or two….or three. Gabriel had a soft spot for willing bedmates, and Juno had been zealously willing.

Not that he'd tell Deirdre any of this, she was already sour with him, let it slip that he rather enjoyed Juno and her milky thighs and late night laughter, and he was sure to get something thrown at him. Instead he turned to her and asked "and just how many sleepovers have you been to miss innocent?"

Deirdre's smile is both irritating and seductively enticing "guess" she purrs.

"Two?" he guesses.

"Nope"

"Three?"

"Not even close"

"Six?"

Deirdre laughs at this and rolls back onto her back "Great, now I'm a whore?"

"Well then what is it?"

She grins at him "Not including you? One."

"One?"

"One"

"Who?"

"Simon" she says it like it was the most casual thing in the world though the sudden gleam in her eyes told Gabriel that she knew exactly what effect that name would have on him.

"And you have the audacity to criticize me for sleeping with Juno? Simon looks like a rat with a hair permanently stuck up his arse."

The comparison makes Deirdre chuckle "He's sweet"

"If by sweet you mean, sweeter than a pissed off cobra snake, then I agree, but only by a little."

"Someone's jealous"

"Me? Jealous of Simon? Ha!" Gabriel slips his boots on and pulls the cords tight.

"He was interesting in bed too."

"Good or bad?"

"Good"

"Huh" Gabriel wasn't in the mood to play mind games with the girl at the moment, maybe later, after he got the wood cut and his other chores finished. "Look we're going to have to pick this conversation up later, I have wood to cut."

Deirdre makes an exaggerated pouting face but for once doesn't come back with one of her typical witty remarks. He's won this round….for now.

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Gabriel can hardly believe that's already been a year since he had been reunited with his mother, a year since he took down Trademaster, a year since his entire life had started making sense, something it hadn't really done since Matty had died. He was sixteen now, nearing seventeen, no longer living in the children's home, but instead in a home near the center of town, just down the street from Jonas and his family, complete with a birthing clinic that his mother ran. No longer did he fear his gift, or spend his days daydreaming about finding his family and his home, because now he had both. Instead his days were mostly made up of him running errands for his constantly busy mother (there always seemed to be a multitude of pregnant women running around Village),watching his three obnoxious charges, Jonas' kids, or finding the time to slip in-between the sheets with the beautiful albeit taunting Deirdre. He was about to enter into his last year of schooling and then he would officially be recognized as an adult, expected to find some sort of occupation, perhaps marry (though kids were out of the question, snot nosed, bossy, nasty little things), settle down and lead a productive life of integrity and honor. It was the way of things around here, in this quaint little village that Jonas had stumbled upon fifteen years ago. Everyone here lived a life of peace, tranquility, and quiet. For many who had escaped to here from other places (that could remember it anyway) this was the ideal life, and Gabriel had to admit that he didn't dislike the prospect of his future, as long as his mother had a place in it. Yet sometimes…sometimes when he had a moment to himself, when he let his mind wander to wherever and whatever it wanted to, well it was then he realized how boring life in Village really was. Nothing exciting ever happened, not unless you counted Simon and Ethan getting into a fist fight as exciting (and it wasn't, he was sure Jonas' two year old daughter could throw better punches). Gabriel had never really thought of himself as the type of guy who'd go looking for adventure, but sometimes he wondered….Jonas had got to go on adventures, two to be exact. And sure technically risking his life to destroy Trademaster had been an adventure, but….still….sometimes he wondered, would it be so bad if he went on another?

Gabriel snorts and shakes his head, it was no use thinking about these things, even if he did want to go on an adventure, it wasn't like opportunities presented themselves to have one…ever. People in Village did a good job of keeping themselves isolated from the rest of the world, as a way to maintain their "refugee" status, so there was never a chance for war, or invasion or any other sort of threat to their quiet lifestyle. Gabriel was grateful for that, he'd never want a war…he guesses anyway, sometimes when he flipped through Jonas' books and saw pictures of bloodstained men wielding weapons of steel, facing each other in blood soaked, dusty battlefields, well it did look fascinating. But then he'd remind himself of how when facing Trademaster he could hardly force himself to hold the deadly weapon the creature had tossed at his feet for defense, much less wield it. War might have looked exciting, but he didn't think he had what it took to mindlessly take another's life.

He should just stick to cutting trees, he was pretty good at that. He draws in a deep breath and swings the heavy axe he has taken from Jonas' shed, and feels the unpleasant jolt that runs up his arm as the blade makes contact with the wood. He swings back and takes another hit, he was strong, in the past year his tall lanky form had started to fill out, and it wasn't long before the tree came down with a thump. He then set to work chopping the tall oak to smaller pieces, drag-able pieces and finally started to set up the chopped up pieces upright so he could split them in half. It was a somewhat slow progress, even being as strong and experienced as he was in this department, and it was already past noon by the time he got around to starting to split the wood. Sweat was pouring off of him by the gallon, his tunic had long since been shed, laid out on the trunk, and his trousers were soaked, his curly hair stuck to his forehead and the nape of his neck and he kept having to stop to push a strand out of his eyes. He found himself joining Deirdre in cursing his obedience to his mother, he always did what she told him, it seemed natural for him to assist her in anyway he could, but sometimes he hated that he was so willing to obey her. Why couldn't he be more like Ethan? Defiant and rebellious? There had once been a time when he had embodied the word defiant, all throughout his childhood he'd been the little rebel, running through the dirty streets, filthy and free, breaking some minor rule that would later get him into trouble, either with Jonas, Mentor or the Boys Home Director. Now however he was every bit the mama's boy. He smiles wryly at that thought, thinking about how much his younger self would laugh at him now.

He was so caught up in his work that he didn't even notice her at first, he tended to get like that, getting so single minded and focused that everything else melted away from him or faded into the background. His mind had wandered off again into its own little world that the young woman who had suddenly appeared in the path, a bundle in her arms, probably thought she could sneak away from him unnoticed. But it was her sudden movement that alerted him to her. She had turned and was trying to sneak on down the path again, but he caught sight of the fluttering dress hem, and the glint of the sun reflecting off something sewn onto the fabric and his head snapped up, he stopped mid swing, his arms stretched over his head, axe poised. "Oh!" he heard himself say.

The girl was younger than him, but not by much, fourteen or fifteen probably. A tall waif of a thing, she looked exhausted and starved. Dirt smeared her cheeks, her eyes were glazed and sunken in. Blood soaked her creamy gauzy dress, her white blonde hair was pulled back haphazardly but strands were loose and sticking to her face in a similar manner as his own. In her arms was a bundled up raggedy old blanket, probably her supplies. She appeared to be alone, for he couldn't see any sign of any others coming up the pathway behind her. Seeing she had been spotted, she froze, her eyes went wide and her face turned a sickly white color. She clutched her bundle closer to her and let out a high pitched squeak.

Gabriel immediately put the axe down (no use scaring the poor girl) and, being overcome with pity for the poor girl, went to her, smiling as kindly and encouragingly as possible. She let out another squeak and backed up away from him. _She's terrified _he realizes. "Hey" he speaks gently, softly, like he spoke to Annabelle and Matthew when they were frightened "It's okay" he coos "I won't hurt you. I promise."

The girl didn't say anything, her silver-ish eyes watched him in the similar manner that someone might watch some kind of deadly viper. She clutched her bundle to her chest, he noticed for the first time that she was heaving, like she had been running, though she looked entirely to sick and exhausted to have been running for very long. The bundle in her arms suddenly let out a loud wail, frightening Gabriel and making him jump. It startled the girl too, whose attention immediately switched from him to the pile of dirty rags in her arms. But unlike Gabriel, she wasn't frightened, just surprised, and in a second her demeanor changed, from being suspicious and frightened, to beaming proudly at whatever was in her arms, she leaned down and kissed whatever was in there.

Gabriel had spent enough time around Jonas' new squawking brat to have a good idea as to what was in the girl's possession. "Is that a baby?" he asks, making sure to keep his voice quiet and soothing.

The girl glanced up at him, as if remembering that he was still there, and that she still had to be weary of him. "Bebe?" she asks him, speaking at last. She has a surprisingly strong voice, regal and proud. He suddenly finds himself thinking of her in that old fairytale that he often reads to Matthew to keep him from destroying his father's house, the Legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. She could have been one of the ladies, perhaps Arthur's own wife, Queen Guinevere. If you wiped away all the sickness and blood and filth, he thinks she might be quite the looker. Her hair, greasy and unwashed now, is a beautiful shade of white gold, her glazed over eyes are a pale shade of silver-gray that he has never seen before. And as she spoke she suddenly drew herself up to her full height and rolled her shoulders back, in the blink of an eye she had changed from a scared girl to a regal looking young woman.

"Baby?" Gabriel finds himself repeating the girl, pointing at the bundle in her arms "is that what's in there?"

The girl blinks her eyes, a look of confusion passes over her face "modern language" she says then "you speak?"

"Yes. Do you?" it finally dawns on Gabriel that this girl might not speak the same language as him, that perhaps the reason she hasn't been responding to him is because she doesn't know how, or that she simply doesn't understand him.

She confirms this by shaking her head "little" she says "learning still." The baby in her arms gives another squawk and she smiles down at it briefly.

Gabriel opens his mouth to ask her what language she did speak, but decided against it, since it didn't matter, he didn't speak any other language then the Modern Language. Oh he knew of other ones, the Trader's Language, the Eastern Language, Ancient Eelothian, and some practically extinct language called English that was now only spoke in remote parts of the south. But the Modern Language was the official language of Village and the most widespread language of the known world. Most people who came to Village knew how to speak it, if it wasn't already their native language. He knew Jonas could speak a little Ancient Eelothian, was semi-fluent in English, the Eastern Language and was currently trying to teach himself some ancient language called French, but Jonas was always throwing himself head first into things like language and history and the studies of various cultures, and he was a rare exception to the rule. Not many people in Village, Gabriel included, bothered to learn much past perhaps a few words or a phrase or two in any other language. Gabriel himself was hopeless with language, he had always been a more logic and science kind of person. But now he suddenly wishes he could identify what she did speak. Perhaps being able to communicate on some level with her would ease her fear of him a little.

"You know Village?" she asks suddenly, her eyes are still on the baby in her arms, still wailing.

"Yes. I live there." He nods to make sure she gets the message. She glances up at him and gives a small smile.

"Show me?" she asks.

He nods again "Yes. It's not far from here." He points down the well-worn path.

She smiles at him now, a big full smile, gone was her weariness and caution, she was more than willing to follow him blindly now. It was strange, the sudden turn-around, but Gabriel was glad for it. He looks back at his wood, most of it cut in half now, and the sled he had dragged out to help him take the wood back to his mother. But it would still be here later this evening, this girl needed his help, his mother would forgive him for leaving the wood. With a shrug he motions to the girl to follow him and starts down the path.

"Desiree." The girl says suddenly, making him stop and turn to look at her. She hadn't moved an inch.

"What?"

"Name Desiree." She points to herself.

"Oh" he copies her motion, pointing to himself "Gabriel".

"Gabriel?"

"Yes" he nods "Though most everyone just calls me Gabe."

"Gabe".

"Yes"

She smiles again and then pulls back the scrape cloth so that he can get a look at the child in her arms. "Keena" she tells him "Mon bebe Keena."

It looked like just about every baby Gabriel had ever seen. Probably a few months old, too big to be newborn anyway, it appeared to be naked, and like it's mother had dirt covering its face. There were some fine golden brown curls splattered on its head. It didn't make for a very pretty picture to Gabriel (who would never get what girls saw in babies that made them go all crazy) but he smiled and nodded politely "Keena's lovely." He told her. Keena was a girl's name he was pretty sure. He vaguely remembers the legend of Queen Keena the first from his childhood, and he wonders if perhaps the child was named in honor of the brave warrior queen.

"Well Desiree, Keena. If you will follow me." He once again motions to the path. "Village awaits."

"Village" she repeats with him, her voice thick now with awe and, Gabriel detected, relief. "Village. Je l'ai fait."

"Yes Village" he replies, taking her elbow, gently as he could, and began to guide her forward, she complied easily enough, but she walked with a limp and winced with every step. He felt his heart go out to the poor girl, and hoped that Herbalist wouldn't be too busy this afternoon. "But you can call it home now."


	3. Desiree Seymour

The girl was already becoming quite a sensation about Village, and she hadn't even been there two weeks. All around him Gabriel heard muttered rumors about the close-knit community's "refugee".

"I hear she is a Queen!"

"I hear she was banished from the Kingdom!"

"I hear she is a witch, who speaks in the strange tongue of magic!"

Many of these rumors were put to Gabriel, for everyone knew that it was with him and his mother that this new little stranger and her child now stayed. He did his best to dispel them "The girl is no queen" he'd reassure them "A noble lady yes, but no Queen. As for banishment, she has said nothing of the sort, it seems more that she ran away."

"Then is she a witch? Is that part at least true?"

Gabriel had to restrain himself from bursting out laughing at this inquiry. He had to remind himself that not all of these people had been born with the good sense he had, or educated with good solid knowledge like he had either. To them things like magic and sorcery and gods were very much a possibility, no not just a possibility a certainty! And possibly even a threat! He saw it in the way their eyes would get wide and an awe-struck look would pass over their kind faces. They feared magic, but they also were fascinated with it. _Sweet fools _he'd think to himself as he would gently reassure them that "No, no indeed there is nothing to worry about on that account. She is no witch. She is nothing more than a poor pitiable fifteen year old girl."

On that much at least, he spoke the truth. He felt bad a little, keeping the girl's true origins from his friends and fellow villagers. But Mentor decided that for the sake of the small babe struggling to live with her solemn blue eyes, the same translucent color as his own, and to keep the Villagers from doing anything to rash in a flurry of fear, that her whole tale wouldn't be told…not yet. So Gabriel did his best to comply. These people didn't need to know that despite her age Desiree was more grown up then most of the young women here. They didn't need to know of the baby's paternity. They didn't need to know that as soon as she was well the girl planned to leave again to the place they called the Red Kingdom, to take her previous position, leaving only her daughter here in the hands of those who would care for her. "The Red Kingdom is my home, it is where I belong" she had told Mentor "but it will be no place for my daughter. I see what happens to children with her title." She shuddered then and made a face.

These people didn't need to know all of that, Mentor had told them, it would only upset them, best to keep quiet on all these matters.

"I don't like it" Jonas had grumbled "this secret keeping. If I didn't know your council to be good and sound Mentor I would ignore it."

"You know I like keeping secrets even less then you my friend" Mentor answered, his dark eyes flickering over to the sleeping girl "but for this once, I think it is the right thing to do."

So all who knew the whole story had been sworn to secrecy, though they were allowed to reveal little things if it would quiet the ridiculous rumors that sprang about.

"How come she never comes out" Deirdre asked him one afternoon as they walked along the river bank, collecting shells. Deirdre's sister's birthday was coming up and Deirdre, as she did every year, was going to make her sister a shell necklace. "Some fresh air would probably do her good."

"She is scared I think" Gabriel admits, dropping a pretty white shell shot with dark red into the basket Deirdre has set aside. "She talks very little to anyone but Mentor and Claire, Jonas terrifies her I think. She doesn't like men with blue eyes."

"You have blue eyes" Deirdre points out. Gabriel shrugs

"But I'm not a man…yet. In her eyes anyway I think. She's friendly enough with me but I think I spook her a lot. She jumps whenever I speak to her."

"What is she afraid of? I mean has anyone explained to her how it works in Village?"

"Several times. The girl is slow to trust people though, she says kindness hides treachery."

Deirdre frowns, a concerned look passes over her pretty face "Poor girl." She says at last "Her life must have been horrible."

"Indeed" _You have no idea. _"She doesn't speak much of it though. I can't give any details if you want them." He was glad that Deirdre had turned her back again and didn't see him wince at the lie he now told her.

The truth was that Gabriel DID know the details, a lot of them. That first day after Gabriel had brought the girl and the wailing baby to a startled Claire and Kira, much fuss had been made over her. She proved that while she didn't seem able to speak much of the Modern Language she could understand it well enough. She introduced herself to the women who introduced themselves in turn and then hurried in with a flurry of questions. Where did she come from? Who was the baby? Where did the blood come from? How old was she? Did she have parents? Family at all?

To some of these she answered well enough on her own. The baby was hers, Keena was her name. No she had no parents. Yes she had a brother and a sister. She told them she was Tristian's maîtresse, and was an Alexandre, but none of this meant anything to the women, or Gabriel. So Kira left to fetch Jonas and see if she could find anyone who could speak the girl's language. Meanwhile Claire had set about cleaning up the wailing baby and examining her closely. "I don't think she'll last through the night" she told her son quietly, out of earshot of the ever vigilant mother. "Every breath this baby takes is a struggle for her."

Gabriel looked down at the child again. It was still howling obnoxiously, but now with the dirt washed away Gabriel could see that the baby was indeed ill. Her eyes were glazed over, and carried with them a yellowish tint where it should have been a milky white. She had a sickly color to her skin. And his mother did speak the truth about the breathing. It was a great labor for the baby, a battle really, to inhale, and then exhale. What he did naturally was an effort to her. At that rate…well she probably would be dead by sundown. It was saddening to think about (as disgusted as he was by babies) but it was a fact of life. With a mother that was the town's midwife he had buried enough babies. His mother was talented when it came to helping women birth. But she wasn't perfect. And she didn't work miracles. Sometimes babies were just born to early, or terribly sick, or dead already. It was the way of nature. Still it hurt to see a life just barely begun to wither away so quickly.

The baby's cries began to grow louder then and the mother sat up rigid, her eyes never left the mewling thing. "Keena" she said and reached her arms out to the child "Laissez-moi mon bébé"

"I think she wants her." Gabriel muttered nodding at the girl. Claire complied easily enough, handing the child to her mother. Immediately the girl stuck her hand down her ruined dress and pulled out a breast. Gabriel felt his cheeks grow hot and he turned away for decency's sake. His mother on the other hand watched the girl intently. "She's very sick as well" she said finally "Perhaps she will die as well."

They stayed like that for some time, Gabriel with his back turned, mother nursing her child, and Claire watching with keen green eyes. At last, after what seemed an eternity, the door of the clinic opened and Kira re-entered, with Jonas, Mentor, and Herbalist in tow. Gabriel was relieved to see that Kira had not brought her two elder children, Matthew and Annabelle, though Isaac her new son was in her arms, his head on her shoulder. Isaac wouldn't allow Gabriel to hold him, so he wouldn't have to worry about being burdened with him. The group is met by Claire who tells them the sad news concerning the baby and the girl herself. "I will let Herbalist have the final say, he has more knowledge on such subjects then I, but in my opinion the girl's chance of surviving is very slim indeed. I think she may have caught a childbirth fever."

She then began to make inquiries regarding Mentor's presence. "the child comes from the Red Kingdom, she speaks the ancient language of French."

"How do you know?" Claire asked.

"I was with Jonas when Kira came bursting in like a mad woman and demanded Jonas come at once with her to the birthing clinic."

Here Jonas spoke "She said that Gabriel had found a girl with a child who said she was Desiree and was of the Alexandre family."

"that caught my attention and I started asking questions" Mentor shrugged "Kira couldn't tell me much, but from what I could glean it became obvious that the child is a daughter of the Red Kingdom, and one of very high standing." He glances back at the child. "Though she looks more like a Yves to me."

Claire blinked, not understanding quite yet "How do you know? Do you speak French?"

Mentor laughed "Do I speak it? It is my native tongue! Claire, you may not know, for I don't speak of it much any more, but long ago, almost in another life it would seem, I was Aramis son of Edmund of the house of Marquis, a noble of the Red Kingdom. Though only a minor one I may add."

Gabriel stares in shock at the man who he has known and loved all his life. "Mentor! How come you have never told us about this before? Why have the schoolchildren never heard this tale?"

Mentor laughs again, he is a withered old man and his laugh is a wheezing sound. So that Gabriel can't tell whether the man is laughing or coughing sometimes. "Like I said Gabriel. It was a long time ago, a part of my past. It was never needed for me to tell you children of my past. I left Aramis and his life when I took on the name Mentor and set up a life here with my wife and daughter." He smiles and waves his hand idly "And even now I do not wish to speak of my past. For it is a sad thing. All that you must know is that I can speak to this girl, and not only can I understand the words that she may speak, but I can know what it is that she speaks about. For I am sure the Red Kingdom has not changed much in the fifty years I've been gone, say for a change in Kings perhaps." He then pushed past the rest of them, leaning on his stick and came to stand in front of the nursing Desiree. She had watched them all with keen interest during their conversation, but now as Mentor approached, the girl immediately dropped her gaze to her feet, and her mouth moved, though Gabriel could not hear if she said anything or not. Mentor smiled then and began to speak to the girl.

"Bonjour dame Desiree fille de la maison d'Alexandre. Je suis Aramis Edmund de la maison de Marquis. C'est un honneur de vous rencontrer."

The girl kept her eyes on her feet, but her face seemed more relaxed then and the corners of her mouth twitched upward into a smile. Her shoulders relaxed down and her hold on her daughter seemed less desperate. She responded to Mentor, and Gabriel was again struck by how regal her voice sounded.

"Mon bon seigneur, il est vraiment réjouissant d'entendre des mots parlés dans ma propre langue! Louez l'esprit immortel que vous devriez être à mon heure de besoin."

Jonas and Kira both come to stand beside Gabriel and Claire, though Herbalist hung back still. "I know a little of what is being spoken" Jonas whispers to Gabe "He has introduced himself and she is telling him how glad she is that he knows her language. Also she speaks of the Immortal Spirit."

"The what?" Gabriel asks. Jonas opens his mouth to answer but just then Mentor starts to speak again.

"Parlez-moi de vous ma dame. Comment est-ce que vous êtes venu ici? Et pourquoi? Ne vous inquiétez pas vous êtes entre amis."

His voice becomes rather soothing toward the end. For the girl had glanced nervously over at the group of them hovering near by, eager to hear what this strange new person had to say. Her silverish eyes flickered over us, and when they came to rest on Jonas, Gabriel swore he saw something like fear pass over her face. The color in her face, what small color she had left anyway, drained away and her eyes got wide. Quickly she diverted her eyes back to her feet. Jonas frowned, a look of confusion came into his clear blue eyes. As if he couldn't understand why this child would be afraid of him. Gabriel on the other hand had no problem believing that Desiree would be terrified of his father figure. Jonas could be an intimidating figure, towering over everyone, with a broad build and a regal presence, many people in Village often joked that "the man should have been a king!"

Jonas may have made an excellent sovereign, no one not even Gabriel who detested monarchy, doubted that. He was just, kind, charitable, willing to listen to all petitions and woes, well learned, and all wrapped up in an unarming kind of charm that caught many off their guard. He was beloved by the people of Village, many of whom had already tried to declare him their authoritarian ruler twice now. He had shot down both requests, being sixteen and then nineteen at the time of the offers. However when a milder form of leadership arose, one in which he was more of a guider or a firm but loving father to the people of Village, he finally relented and accepted the role. For five years from the time he was twenty till the arrival of his first son Matthew, Jonas led the people of Village successfully quieting two mild rebellions of the people and one major one (in which the people petitioned to close their gates from new refugees). However shortly after his marriage to Kira, Jonas found that it became a hassle to lead the people AND try to start a family. So when Kira gave birth to Jonas' first child, a son, Jonas quietly stepped down from his position, handing to some of the Village elders and started a simpler life with his family. The people still looked to him for advice and help, and despite his firm refusal to take the leadership position again, he was more than willing to help the Villagers when he could. This girl would know none of this however. All she would know was that Jonas was a tall, larger-than-life looking kind of guy. That would be enough to frighten anyone who didn't know him, much less a young girl who has obviously just escaped from something traumatic.

Mentor has to reassure her briefly again, and then finally, the girl takes in a deep breath and begins to speak. "Je suis la fille de Bernard Seymour et Fleur Seymour, les connaissez-vous?"

Mentor shakes his head and replies "Non, mais je savais que Bernard de la famille Alexandre. Il était un guerrier courageux"

"Il était mon grand-père. Du côté de ma mère, je viens d'Edmund Royce de la maison Yves."

At this Mentor smiles and laughs. "Ahh Royce! Un homme de bien, un grand complice. Il est toujours en vie?"

Desiree nods her head "Oui" she says. Mentor turns to the gathered gang.

"She's explaining her heritage. It is tradition in the Red Kingdom that when you introduce yourself you do so through your family. On both your mother's and your father's side. Desiree is the daughter of Seymour Bernard and Fleur, very influential people where we come from. And her grand sires are Bernard, a valiant warrior and Royce the King's Abettor. Practically the King's number two guys. The girl has come from a very important and well admired family."

"And yet she's here." Claire mutters beside her son. Mentor sighs and nods "Yes and yet she's here."

He turns back to the girl "Avez-vous une famille?"

The girl nods "Oui. J'ai une sœur et un frère, tous deux âgés que moi. et un oncle et six cousins."

"Savent-ils que vous êtes ici?"

The girl shakes her head.

"Pourquoi êtes-vous ici?" Mentor's voice becomes soothing once more.

The girl draws in a deep breath, but before she could begin to speak the baby at her breast makes a squeak. Gabriel jumps, forgetting the baby was there. Desiree stops and smiles down at the child, stroking the baby's curls, she rests the baby on her shoulder and begins to pat the baby's back, almost immediately the baby burps…loudly. And Desiree laughs.

"Keena!" she squeals in delight. Beside him Gabriel sees his mother smile fondly at the scene.

"So young" she mutters "And yet she's seems to be an excellent mother. I wonder if she knows how sick that child is."

"Perhaps" Jonas answers her. "But a mother's intuition is rather fascinating. Perhaps she sees something about the child that we don't."

"Jonas…the baby will die" Gabriel tells him "It is struggling to breathe."

'And yet it can scream like a banshee, according to my wife."

"Well yes but-

"Gabriel, I'm not denying the child is sick, and that things don't look good. But perhaps there is more to Keena then meets our eyes. She has survived thus far, and in Forest no less. She is stubbornly taking each breath, even as laborious as it is for her. The baby is stronger then you two give credit for."

Gabriel looks back at the baby, still on Desiree's shoulder. Her little head was up and she was staring at her surroundings with sudden curiosity. Even from their distance Gabriel could tell the child was still struggling to breathe normally, but he also saw something rather odd about the child. He couldn't place it, not exactly, but it fascinated him none the less, and drove him to veer into the child.

He'd all but stopped veering as of late, for he saw no need. He had put his gift to good use, just as Jonas and Kira and Matty had. He had destroyed Trademaster and reversed all the wrongs that creature had wrought. Surely the gift would diminish like Jonas and Kira's had. But on the few times he had felt compelled to attempt veering, he had found that it was still there, and as strong as ever, in fact, it seemed to be getting stronger, and Gabriel could perform it for longer periods of time without over exerting himself. It confused him, and sometimes it annoyed him (he didn't like things he couldn't explain, and he couldn't explain this power of his), and sometimes it thrilled him. But normally he tried to put it out of his mind. Still, on rare occasions, like now, he called it to use. He steadied himself and steeled his nerve. Then he fixed his eyes on the ill baby and concentrated, calling on his gift from the recesses of his mind. For a moment he feared he may have at last lost the ability for the answering feeling of being jerked out of his being didn't come. But then the world around him fell silent and instead of a jerk he felt a gentle nudge. And then he was outside of his being, and into the girl's. He became Keena, just like he had become Trademaster nearly a year before.

He had never veered into a baby before. Jonas' two year old son had been the youngest he had ever attempted to veer before. He remembered how laughingly simple the young boy's being had been. His concern, his sense of indignation over having a toy swiped from him by his younger sister, and his overwhelming love for his mother, who he had seen as his provider and protector. But compared to this small child, Matthew's feelings had been extremely complicated. For there was…at first, almost nothing to this baby's essence. No fears, no thoughts, no coherent emotions. _Perhaps it's dead already. _

And then, just when he was about to withdraw from the child, he felt it. It started as a twinge at first, but steadily, pulsing almost, it grew. A single, determined feeling. Defiance. The child was….somehow….in some unexplainable way, aware that it was at death's door. And yet she was defying her fate. She was struggling on with grim set determination. She was inhaling, she was exhaling, inhaling, exhaling. She willed herself to keep going. Death wouldn't claim her….not yet anyway. Not if this small babe had anything to say about it.

The baby turned her head then from the wall to face her mother. That's when the defiance was joined by another emotion. Love. Already the small infant felt love for her young, perhaps inexperienced mother. And the love only fed into the child's defiance.

Gabe stood there, in awe of what he was feeling, for so long that his own physical body gave out, he had forgotten that as well controlled as he was with his gift, it was still a tiring and taxing thing. And he had to still make his veers relatively short. The last thing he saw was Desiree's stunning silver eyes on her child's face, glowing with maternal love, her soft voice flowing over the child and comforting her. Then his world slowly faded to black and went silent again. His body crumpled to the floor.

When he had come to again, he found he had been put into his bed, in the small cottage adjacent to the clinic. Sitting up his head spun and his throat was parched, slowly he lowered himself back onto the pillow. Presently he became aware of the voices floating down the hallway. The deep reassuring voice of Jonas, the gentle, almost melodic voice of his wife Kira, and his mother's own pragmatic, coarse voice. At first he could only make out the voices, and then the occasional word. He became aware that they were talking about the girl and where she came from. He probably hadn't been out for very long because it seems that they had just started discussing the girl's story. Either that or the girl had been talking for a very long time. After a while the words became more pronounced and he started hearing whole sentences. He lay very still and strained his ears, eager to hear as much as possible.

"I think before we really get into Desiree's past, I should tell you some things about where I come from." That was Mentor's course voice. "The Red Kingdom, most people in Village seem to know it by the name The Bloodstained Kingdom, was founded around two thousand years after the Great Ruin of 2525. Legend states that it was founded by Erion the Just after he had witnessed one too many injustices to the people of his Realm."

"Realm?" Claire asks. Not surprisingly it is Kira that answers Gabriel's mother. Just as Jonas was well versed in language, Kira was well versed in the history of the world.

"After The Great Ruin a majority of the population of people were wiped out. The people left were content to wander from place to place, like the Wandering Folk do now. But about six hundred years after the Ruin, families started picking places and settling down, calling others to come and live, first with them, and then under them. They became known as Chieftains, and their family names became the names of the places they settled. However, after a while, the chieftains starting warring with one another. It ended when the Beorhtric, a family that controlled a large land in the middle of the families, finally conquered many of their surrounding chieftains and made them their Barons, protectors of their realms, though now, they were all part of the Beorhtric kingdom. They named that kingdom Eeloth, and it still stands today, though considerably smaller. Over time many of the original Barons broke away from Eeloth, angered that the kings and queens were acting more and more like the tyrannical presidents and prime ministers of the ancient worlds."

"Right" Mentor adds "and one of these families were the Prasutagus. They were Barons of the Realm of Prastus. At the time it was run by a young man named Erion, whose sister Mariza was the Queen of Eeloth. However shortly after Erion broke away from Eeloth and established his own Kingdom, a war broke out between him and the ancient kind Cathair. Little is know about the cause of the war, but it seems that it might have been over the love an elusive woman named Anemone, even though both Cathair and Erion were married. For whatever the reason, war was waged and Erion was killed on the battlefield. But Erion's advisors, led by the general of his army, Carvel, and soon joined by the Queen Regent Mariza of Eeloth, and the Mother-Queen of the Vandals, carried on the war and rose victorious. Two years later Carvel was crowned king and the other advisors were named the kingdom's nobles and wardens of their domains, as well as called to perform a specific task for the King. These tasks are still carried out today among the houses, and two more minor noble houses have been added. The Carvel family, those descended, through the males, from King Carvel, are the Kings of the Red Kingdom. Then there is the Yves family, their heads are the second in command people, known as the King's Abettor. Then there comes the Gregoire house, they are the spiritual leaders of the Kingdom, the priests for the Immortal Spirit. The Alexandre house are the war mongers, all the men are warriors, and the heads are almost always the head of the Guards, their army. Lastly, of the great noble houses, there are the Rolands, descendants of Roland the illegitimate half-brother of Erion, they are in charge of dealing with all intrigue. Spies, assassins, that sort of thing. Then there are the two lower houses, my own house, the Marquis, were in charge of the royal treasury and keeping finances balanced. And then there was the Laurent house, they are the lowest house, and they are in charge of governing the commoners, that is the poor people, and keeping them under control. "

"Seems like you are running a pretty tight ship over there Mentor." Kira's voice interrupts.

"It's very tight Kira, and it's been the same for thousands of years. The rules have made it nearly impossible to change. It's a patriarchal society, men dominate everything spiritual and secular. Women are nothing more than property in their eyes, even the noble women. The only exception to this rule, is the Queen. She alone is recognized as a human being and not as property, though even she is under the authority of her husband the King."

There is a pause in the conversation then, later Gabriel was to discover it was because Isaac, Kira and Jonas' new baby, was stirring from his nap and Kira had to go and check on him. After a brief moment the conversation resumed.

"Our little lady over there was a member of the Alexandre family, but not just a member. Her father Seymour was the patriarch, or the head, of the family. These are men most closely the direct descendants of the original advisors. They are revered and treated almost as demigods, and their families, even the females, are to be given their proper dues by those below them. I never knew Seymour, he was born shortly after I left, but I knew Seymour's father Bernard. We fought side by side in the battle of Far Side. If Seymour was anything like his father then he was a valiant man with a short fuse. Bernard was quick to reward those he favored, and even quicker to punish those who tried his patience. Still he was a skilled fighter, an amazing strategist. Anyway, that's not all that important. Desiree is the daughter of an important man, that is important, and her mother seems to be well beloved by the people. She seems to have a brother Jacques, she talks fondly of him, and a sister Aurore, she doesn't like her, she made that clear. When she was six she was contracted to her friend Eloi."

"Contracted?" Jonas asked.

"Engaged. Seymour promised Eloi's father, and Eloi's father promised Seymour that the two would marry when they reached of age."

"And when would that be?" Claire spoke up.

"For the boy? About the time he could take up his chosen occupation for himself, around sixteen or seventeen. For a girl? The time she started having her monthly fluxes. So thirteen or fourteen."

"They are marrying girls at fourteen?" Claire seemed rather alarmed.

"It's the way it is over there Claire" Kira soothes.

"Let us not forget Claire, our old community was having you give birth at fourteen."

There is another silence and then Jonas spoke up.

"So the baby is this Eloi guy's?"

"No. It would seem that for some reason the marriage contract was broken off. She won't speak about what happened, but it seems to me that whatever it was, it was traumatic, so much so she has made herself forget what it was. Possibly she was raped."

"Raped?" Claire asked.

"Forced to have sex against your will." Jonas explains.

"Oh!"

Mentor ignores the outburst and continues "She says when she was eight her father was killed in battle, and three months later her mother was stoned to death for infidelity-

"Stoned to death?" It was Claire again.

"It means they throw stones at a person until they die."

"I know what stoning means" Claire answers "I mean…..isn't that a little harsh for the crime?"

"Not in the Red Kingdom. Infidelity on the woman's side is the worst crime that can be committed."

"How backward."

"It's simply the way it is" Mentor explains "So Desiree here lost her parents, and was put in the care of her uncle Adolphe and aunt Euphie. She was till engaged to Eloi at this time, and her family was petitioning the King for a proxy wedding."

"What is that?" Kira asks.

"It's when the boy and girl, still underage, take the wedding vows and exchanged bans, so that the wife may move in with the boy's family, but the wedding of course won't be consummated till you are old enough."

"Ahh"

"The petition never went through however, because something happened to the girl. Again I think she may have been raped. But she's completely forced it from her memory. All she said was that at the age of nine she was thrown out of her household and sent to the Brothels, a home for prostitutes where we come from, the wedding contract to Eloi was broken and she was put under the care of the head of the Brothel, Ophelie."

Gabriel had been so wrapped up in the story that he hadn't even noticed that he was sitting up now, and leaning forward, eager to hear more. Now however there was a break in the conversation again, this one longer than the first, and Gabriel forced himself to stand up and walk to the open door. He found he was still a little woozy but able to move. With some effort, leaning up against the wall, he peeked around the corner into the hallway. There he found his mother, Mentor, Claire and Jonas all huddled together, Kira was nowhere to be seen. His mother and Mentor both had their back turned to him, but Jonas, who was facing him, soon spotted him and grinned. "Well look who's up!" he laughs. Mentor and Claire turn around, his mother's face lights up in relief and delight, and Mentor smiles and nods at him.

"You gave me a scare there son!" Claire laughs, she goes to him and wraps him up in a big hug, and Gabriel is reminded that for such a tiny woman, Claire was unbelievably strong. Normally Gabriel was uncomfortable with hugs, he remembers when Jonas had introduced him to Kira and when the young woman had tried to hug him he had ran away from her, and avoided her like a plague for weeks. Gabriel wasn't a particularly affectionate person, it wasn't in his nature, but with his mother it was different. He didn't like her hugs anymore then he liked hugs from his friends, but he tolerated them better. He would hug her back, and smile for her sake. For some reason he felt guilty pulling away from his mother, who had been denied her right to mother him for fifteen years. Peeking over her shoulder Gabriel saw Jonas roll his eyes as if to say _mothers_, though Jonas himself was motherless. Sure, like Gabriel, he had had a birthmother, but unlike Claire, the woman hadn't spent her entire life searching out her son. Jonas sometimes spoke of a woman he had been assigned to, a woman he called mother. But he didn't seem to think of her the same way Gabriel thought about his mother.

"I'm fine mother" Gabriel reassures Claire "I think I just had a heat stroke or something" he lies. Claire was aware that he had powers, but he didn't like to tell her when he used them, because they made her nervous. He spies Jonas give him one of his famous looks, letting him know that he knows what really happens. Gabriel feels his cheeks turn hot in embarrassment but he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Claire finally lets go of her son, her green eyes searching his pale blue ones. He grins at her "Really mom" he says "I'm fine! I've been awake for a while now actually, I've been listening to the story Mentor's been telling."

Just then Kira appears in the hallway, her little boy in her arms. The baby was about three months old now, though he was large for his age, and fat. He blinked his sleepy blue eyes at everyone and then yawned, letting out a high pitched squeak. Kira sighs and shakes her head "It's no good" she says "This little one won't sleep. I don't know what's got into him, he usually goes down for his nap no problem!"

"Maybe it's because he's not in his house" Jonas suggests "You remember Annabelle wouldn't go down either unless she was home" he holds his arms out for his son. Kira happily hands him over.

"Maybe" she mutters, watching Isaac with critical blue eyes. Jonas scrunches up his nose, making a face at his son, the boy stares at him fascinated for a moment, then, apparently growing bored, he rests his head on his father's shoulder and gives a content and oddly adult sigh. Kira turns back to Mentor.

"Well now that I'm back, shall we continue?"

"Ahh yes!" Mentor snaps his fingers "Back to Desiree. Well anyway, the girl says she stayed in the Brothel under Ophelie's protection until she was thirteen. At twelve she says she took up prostitution, as was the custom."

"These people have horrible customs" Claire muttered "A girl was prostituting?"

"Yes, sadly, that's the way it is." Mentor shrugged "But when she was twelve she says her friend Enora, another prostitute, caught the eye of the King, she calls him King Tristian. He took her as a mistress. According to this girl Tristian has a lot of mistresses. That's not uncommon, when I was there the King, King Matthau had four of them, at the same time. Anyway, she named all of them. There was Kameke, she was a Ghawdian woman and the oldest and head of the mistresses. According to Desiree it was Kameke that Tristian loved, and treated her so much better than his own wife that the people called Kameke the king's true queen. After her came Jeanne Ambroise who was half Vandalese. Then Isabelle Chappelle, who Desiree doesn't seem to think very highly of. Then Jeanne Eugene, and Cecile Giles. They were all there before Enora joined them. Enora then taught all she knew about pleasing the king to Desiree, and shortly after Desiree turned thirteen the king started to take notice of her as well. She was brought to the king by Kameke who also coached Desiree on how to please Tristian. I won't go into detail about what happened between Desiree and Tristian, I'm sure everyone here can figure that one out. But apparently Desiree passed, for she was named one of his personal mistresses. She's been his mistress for nearly two years now she says. She managed to become his second favorite, only Kameke was more loved in Tristian's eyes. He showered her with jewels and expensive gowns and gave her servants of her own, she accompanied him everywhere and the people of the town were forced to call her Lady Desiree again, a title she lost when she was thrown out of the Alexandre house. Then she got pregnant. Apparently Tristian started acting weird then. Normally he was thrilled when one of his mistresses got pregnant. He loathed his wife, the Queen Celeste, something he hardly hid from the public, and so far he had only had one daughter by Celeste. By law, only a man could rule, so he was desperate to have sons. But with Desiree it was different. When she told him she was with child, he started to avoid her, she stopped being asked to go with him places, he kept her hidden away, the presents stopped coming. She was afraid of what she had done wrong. Then one day she heard Isabelle tell Jeanne Ambroise that the king had said if Desiree gave birth to a son he would order it to be killed. Later Isabelle also told Enora that Tristian was planning to have the baby killed before Desiree could even give birth to it. Then he swore he would never touch Desiree again. At first Desiree wrote it off as Isabelle being the trouble maker she was. But then the king himself came to her rooms one night and told her that he had decided that the child she was carrying was to be put to death. She was to start taking the trade the next morning and if that failed he was going to send her to his sister in Ghawd where they had perfected the practice of pulling children out of their mothers before their time."

"What was taking the trade?" Gabriel asked.

"It's a kind of medicine one can take to induce a miscarriage. It was technically illegal where I come from but it was usually tolerated." Mentor shrugged again and then moved on in his tale "The girl was terrified and outraged. Didn't she have a say in this fate of her child? Why was Tristian so bent on destroying it? What threat was a helpless baby going to pose to a king like Tristian? But the king refused to discuss it any farther and when she continued to beg him for an answer her stuck her and told her to be keep her mouth shut like her betters. Then he left her. That's when Kameke found her. Sprawled out on the floor weeping. For whatever reason, Kameke decided to help Desiree. She told the girl she needed to run, to go to Vandal or Ghawd where they would welcome her and the child. She helped Desiree pack some food, and stole a map from Tristian's study for her. Then she smuggled Desiree out of the manor and with the help of Desiree's childhood friend Eloi, her cousin a girl named Questa and her brother Jacques she was successfully sneaked out of the Kingdom limits. Kameke pointed her in the right direction and then sent her off on her own. Desiree stumbled around for some time alone, completely lost. But then she bumped into a group of Wandering People. They took her into their clan for a while and helped her when her time to give birth came. She had a baby girl, as you all clearly know, and she named her Keena, after a legendary Queen of ours. Shortly after the clan told her she should avoid the Ghawdians and the Vandals. They were having trouble with Torth raids as of late and wouldn't welcome strangers. Instead she needed to go to Village where they still took in refugees. They took her most of the way and then, like with Kameke, pointed her in the right direction and left her alone. She had been traveling for about a week she reckons, when she stumbled upon Gabriel here. By that time both she and the baby had fallen very sick."

When Mentor finishes his story there was a long silence. Everyone gathered was taking in what they had just learned. Jonas turns and looks back down the hallway where the girl probably was. Gabriel hears him sigh.

"That poor girl." Kira mutters "She's been through so much."

Mentor nods "She has. She deserves to spend the rest of her life in peace. But strangely I don't think she means to stay here. Actually I know she doesn't."

Now shock flickers onto everyone's face. "Why not? How do you know?" Kira asks.

"I don't know why, but the girl told me she plans on going back as soon as she's well enough."

"What?" Claire exclaims.

"I know, it's strange. But" Mentor follows Jonas' stare, looking down the hallway "She keeps saying 'J'ai quelque chose que je dois faire'"

"What does that mean?" Jonas asks.

"I have something I need to do."

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Thinking back to the incident Gabriel frowns, wondering what it was the girl thought she needed to do, that would require her to return to such a horrid place. As she recovered he had started speaking to her. She wasn't all that afraid of him, weary maybe, but not afraid. Her reluctance to talk maybe had stemmed more from the fact that she didn't seem to get their language then her fear. There was no doubting that she was afraid of Jonas, she would hide in Gabriel's room when he came to visit. But he seemed to be the only one.

"Hello? Gabriel? Are you still with us?" Deirdre asked with a laugh, waving her hand in front of his face. Gabriel shook the thoughts out of his head and smiled at her.

"Yeah I'm fine" he says. Catching her unawares he leans over and kisses her. "Have I told you that you look lovely in blue?" he says.

Despite herself, Deirdre's cheeks turn pink "Yesterday you told me that I looked lovely in yellow."

"You do" He says "And red and green, and purple. You look good no matter what color you wear." He wraps his arms around her tiny waist and kisses her again. This time she is more prepared and when his lips meet hers, she eagerly responds.

Gabriel was beginning to wonder if perhaps he could convince Deirdre to go home with him. His mother wouldn't be home this time of day, and Desiree already knew Deirdre, and spent most of her day watching her struggling baby and sleeping. She probably wouldn't mind if the two of them slipped into his room for some private time together. But then he heard someone shouting his name. With a groan he pulled away from Deirdre. He expected for it to turn out to be Nathaniel, his best friend and Deirdre's twin brother, jokingly threatening Gabriel for being so intimate with his sister (or at least half jokingly). He was surprised when it turned out to be Jonas, Mentor at his side. And far from looking amused they looked very worried.

Immediately Gabriel thought of Desiree with her fierce silver eyes and his heart dropped. "What?" he called to the two men.

"It's Desiree!" Jonas calls, confirming Gabriel's fears "She's left the clinic! We can't find her anywhere!"


	4. Lost and Found

"Left the clinic?" Gabriel repeated, his pale eyes growing wide, in what Jonas had to gather was fear. Gabriel could sometimes be hard to read, he liked to pretend that he was somewhat apathetic towards everything, but Jonas had seen the boy grow up, and he knew better. This was Gabriel, the boy who had broken down sobbing when he had thought his mother was dead, Gabriel who as a toddler would have a tantrum every time Jonas would try to leave him with the caretakers at the Children's home. Gabriel who, though to this day he denies it, had gotten teary eyed when Jonas had let him hold Matthew the first time. Gabriel hated that Jonas knew it, but he knew that Gabriel was a huge softie. And he also knew that as much as Gabriel tried to act disinterested in Desiree, he had grown fond of the girl, in a brotherly kind of way almost.

That was kind of why, the second he had been informed of Desiree's disappearance he had gone to search out Gabriel, he had hoped that perhaps, feeling better, the girl would have been persuaded by Gabriel (who had a way with girls) to leave and get some fresh air. Something he could now see was a fool's hope. Gabriel seemed as bewildered as Jonas felt.

"Claire checked in to see if Desiree and the baby were alright" Mentor explained "the baby was there, still alive too, but Desiree is just gone!"

"But where would she have gone?" Deirdre asks, an annoyed expression flickering across her pretty face. Gabriel's girlfriend was well known for her spitfire attitude and her expansive vocabulary. "She's probably just left to get some fresh air, she's been cooped up in that stuffy clinic for two weeks now." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's not that simple Dee" Gabriel informs her.

"Not that simple? What do mean?" Deirdre narrows her eyes at the boy "Gabriel?"

Jonas sees Gabriel wince a little "Desiree…..didn't want to stay in Village."

This seemed like a foreign concept to Deirdre, and one she couldn't quite understand. _That makes two of us _Jonas thought. He couldn't believe that Desiree, who had been beaten, abused and cruelly handled from a very young age, seemed rather eager to return to the same people who had done her wrong. Mentor had said that she mentioned having to do something. But what could it possibly be? He saw a flash of something….something that scared him…in the girl's silver eyes. She seemed completely mild and quiet, but that look….it reminded Jonas of a schemer, someone with less than honorable ambitions. He didn't like thinking about it, but Jonas never stopped his thoughts from going where they willed. It was his personal belief that all thoughts needed to be examined and confronted. To dismiss one was foolish. So he often thought about the half-starved girl in the birthing clinic with the little baby that struggled to live another day. He also thought more and more about the Red Kingdom, he was pretty sure at some point the kingdom had been called Prasutagus but due to it's violent reputation it had been referred to as the Red Kingdom for so long hardly anyone even knew the original name anymore. Jonas had gathered some bits of information from Mentor regarding the Red Kingdom and he'd learned even more from books he could find on the subject. He'd been mildly surprised to find in his collection of what used to be the Giver's books, a record of all the kings of the Red Kingdom (and queen he mustn't forget that) from King Carvel to King Henri V, nearly two hundred years' worth of information regarding the kings' dispositions, favorite nobles, battles, power struggles and how well they cared for their kingdom as a whole. He couldn't help but wonder how the Communities got a hold of such a precious book, for he knew the Communities had been established long before Carvel or any of his decedents. Still he was grateful for the book, no matter how strange it was to find in his collection, for it had taught him a lot. It had shed some light on the Kingdom's religion, the Worship of the Immortal Spirit, he'd known about it before of course, many in Village worshiped this god themselves. But he'd discovered the harsher view that these people took on what Jonas knew to be a mild religion. At first, under the first four rulers, the Immortal Spirit and his religion preached peace and love, equality for all people, and respect for all people as well. However shortly after it seems that the religion was twisted into something sick. Where women were treated more like property then people, where the poor were are kept poor and the rich kept getting richer. The religion taught that blood-shed was righteous that cruelty was godly and that oppression was the only way to achieve the glorious after life. It was disturbing to Jonas, he wasn't even sure his community had achieved the ruthlessness and cruelty of the Red Kingdom. They were a cunning, violent, blood thirsty, war waging country, ruled by (what Jonas could tell anyway) a family that commonly suffered from insanity.

And yet this girl still wanted to return. Why? What kind of future could she have there? It was an intriguing mystery.

"She says she has something she needs to do" Mentor tells Deirdre "and it's imperative that she leaves as soon as possible. But she wanted us to keep the child. It's illegitimate-

"Not that I don't know what illegitimate means, but what does she mean by illegitimate? That the baby is not valid?"

"It's a batard."

"A what?"

"We don't have a word for it in the Modern Language…a….misbegotten. That's the closest I can come."

"Oh. Born out of wedlock?"

"Mhm"

"….so what….is the girl like a whore or something?"

"Deirdre" Gabriel mumbles "honestly. She was the king's mistress."

At the mention of the king Deirdre's eyes get wide, her jaw drops and she drops the shells in her hands.

"But honestly, none of that matters now!" Mentor snaps, his patience wearing thin "we need to find this girl. Before she escapes. Claire and Herbalist both are sure she's not ready enough to make the return journey. She was still running a fever."

"Have you checked everywhere?" Gabriel asks.

"Of course"

"And no one's seen her?"

"No one that we have talked to."

Gabriel scrunches up his face "She couldn't have gotten that far. She was fast asleep when I left about half an hour ago."

"Are you sure she was really asleep and wasn't faking it?" Deirdre asks.

The look on Gabriel's face made it clear he wasn't sure.

"Well instead of standing here…lets track her down." Jonas had had enough of the standing around. Every moment they wasted talking was another step Desiree was getting from Village. "Gabriel I want you to go down the path that she arrived on. Check for any signs of her. Mentor do the same on the path leading to the main entrance-

"What about me?" Deirdre asked. "I want to help."

"Go back to the clinic, go see if she's gone home.-

"No way!" Deirdre shouted, putting her hands on her hips "Don't make me go do inconsequential work. I really want to help! Let me search the woods with Gabriel and Mentor."

Jonas opened his mouth to tell her that there was nothing inconsequential about going to Claire's. There was a real possibility that Desiree had gone for a walk and had come home already. Or that Claire had found her before she found a path exiting. But he saw in her fierce dark eyes that it was futile to point this out.

Plus they were running out of time.

"Alright then, go check the back entrance to Village. Check for signs that anyone has recently used it. Don't go too far though. Only to the stream by the giant oak. I'll go to the clinic."

The others nodded and started off in the directions dictated to them. Jonas himself turned around and started back down the path he had come from. Village, when he had first arrived a terrified boy of thirteen, had been rather small. Nothing more than a gathering of a few crude houses around a long meeting hall. There had been no Children's Home, no intermediate housing, no library. These things had come later, during his later teen years, though the library hadn't been established till after Jonas had been elected Leader, and it had been under his direction that it had been built. However the small refugee town had thrived, and then flourished. A giant melting pot for people of all origins. Ghawdians, Vandals, Torths, Hommes (men from the Red Kingdom), Femme (women from the Red Kingdom), Eelothians, Community Members, Belyzians (men and women from the southern, English speaking Belyz), Angles (a small series of fishing towns in the west), Quaners (men and women from the northern realm of Quan that was divided into four small principalities), and several people from small unnamed villages and towns. Lately people were migrating to Village in large numbers, apparently being driven there by the Torths, a dominion known for enslaving people from other civilizations, beating them into submission and trading them to other slave-owning places. Though Torth seemed to prefer plundering and small-scale kidnappings, lately they were launching full scale attacks on some of the largest and most powerful kingdoms. It was well known that the Known World superpowers were the Red Kingdom, Ghawd, Eeloth, and Vandal. All of them were declared "free kingdoms" meaning they prohibited the owning of slaves, and were refuges for escaped slaves (though why anyone would flee to the Red Kingdom was beyond Jonas). Why Torth was targeting these powerful realms was a source of mystery among many of the newcomers. Ghawd had already retaliated and massacred thousands of Torths under the command of their King Moswen and Queen Anais. But Torth hadn't quit raiding the Ghawdian coasts, laying waste to ports and kidnapping anyone between the ages of four and forty and murdering everyone else, or mutilating them. Both Vandal and Eeloth under Mother Queen Boudicca and Queen Draighean respectively had issued warnings against Torth but so far took no action. In the Red Kingdom, people reported, King Tristian hadn't taken any action as of yet, except to issue a decree of protection to any Torth slave that escaped, but it was well known he was furious. And King Tristian, was apparently someone you didn't want to cross.

This was the man Desiree had gotten involved with, admittedly had fallen in love with. The more Jonas heard about him the less he liked the man. He was young, about at age with Jonas, twenty-seven or so (Jonas wasn't sure of his own age). The only son of King Gabriel by his mistress Edwige. He was rumored to have a hand in his parents' murder. Gabriel had no children by his wife Ambre, only two daughters, Ophelie and Anais. Ophelie was dead, also murdered. Anais was married to Moswen and reigned as queen of Ghawd. So it was fairly easy for Tristian to claim the crown. From the moment he did he proved to be a blood-thirsty king. He waged war constantly, mostly with the Ghawdians and the Vandals. He was constantly beheading nobles and "wayward women". Though the poor adored him for under his rule their conditions improved vastly. But everyone else was terrified of him, and with good reason.

Besides his taste for blood shed, Tristian also had a taste for pretty women. He had seven mistress, and it was sometimes whispered he had had an affair with his half sisters, whom he had been close too. And Desiree had belonged to this Harlem. What had she seen in this monster of a man that led her to becoming his mistress, no…to fall in love with him? Did he have any part in the reason why she had return to the Red Kingdom? Was she still in love with him?

Jonas sighs, these questions were unanswerable, for the moment at least, and he was nearing the birthing clinic. He didn't banish the questions and thoughts, but he put them in the back of his mind, to ponder them later.

Claire was waiting for him at the door of the clinic, a relieved look on her sweet, pretty face. She smiled when she saw him coming down the path and waved a pale arm. "Call off the search!" she shouts laughingly "We found her."

"You did? Where?" Jonas shouts back.

"She was in the Worship Center, praying to the Immortal Spirit."

"She was praying?"

Claire nods, her green eyes flickering behind him "Where's Gabe?"

"I sent him to go search Forest for the girl. We thought she had run away. She was just praying? What for?"

Jonas was aware of the concept of prayer, Village has no official religion, but it welcomed the practice of religion, as long as it was done peacefully. He had seen people do it plenty of times, to various different deities. He was intrigued by the idea of it, and he would not deny the presence of a higher power, but he thought it strange that people were so keen on trying to develop a personal relationship with the said higher power, trying to identify it and define it. Still people were free to do as they pleased.

"She was giving thanks I think" Claire replies, scratching idly at her neck. "For finding this place, and for the survival of the baby."

"But Keena hasn't survived yet. Isn't she still sick?"

Claire nods "But she's made it this far, and I think Desiree is glad of that."

Jonas feels his heartbeat start to return to normal. He grins at Claire, and breathes a sigh of relief. "So she's back here?"

"Yup, feeding Keena. Come on in." without waiting for an answer Claire turns and with a flounce of her red hair, so very much like Gabe's that it was glaringly obvious they were mother and son, headed back into the cottage. Jonas obligingly fallowed after.

Just as Claire had said, there was Desiree, looking happier and healthier then Jonas had seen, in one of Claire's homemade dresses, her long white blonde hair pulled back into a simple plait, her thin pretty face had some glow to it. She was smiling, a peaceful aura hung about her. In her arms was the baby, sucking industriously on her mother's breast, her left arm was reached up and her small hands were fingering a necklace. Jonas had noticed this necklace before, when his wife had pointed it out to him. It was a simple gold chain on which a pendent of a rearing, roaring lion with a crown of roses on its mane hung. Mentor had explained that the roaring lion was the symbol of the Alexandre family, while the thorny rose was the symbol of the Yves family. "She is the daughter of an Alexandre patriarch and the daughter of the Yves patriarch, it makes sense that she takes pride in her family heritage, most nobles do." To Jonas however, the girl's insistence to keep the necklace on was another reminder that she hadn't given up her attachment to her old place.

The girl looked up when she heard them approaching, upon seeing Jonas standing by Claire, the smile ran away from her face and she glanced down at her feet. Jonas knew the girl was afraid of him, though why he wasn't sure. He hadn't done anything to inspire fear, he knew he looked a little intimidating, but most people got over that the moment they spoke to him. Desiree, though, refused to speak to him.

"Hello Desiree" Jonas greeted.

He was greeted with silence.

"You gave us a little bit of a scare there" Jonas continues, being sure to keep his distance and to keep his movements slow and deliberate. "We thought you had skipped out on us."

The girl made a face but said nothing.

"Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going?" Claire asked her.

Finally, at last, the girl spoke, but made it clear it was to Claire and not Jonas she spoke to. "ou I venir de we not announce priere."

"I wish she knew more Modern Language." Claire muttered "I didn't get any of that. Did you?"

"A little" Jonas admits "she's saying something about prayer. About why she didn't announce her leaving."

"La prière est d'être une chose privée, entre l'esprit immortel et vous." Desiree continues. "Je pensais que personne ne le remarquerait que j'étais parti." She shrugs.

"I caught the last part" Jonas informs Claire "she thinks no one would have noticed her absence."

Claire snorted, putting her hands on her hips "Not notice? That the celebrity of Village was missing?"

"She doesn't know what a sensation she had proven to be" Jonas points out.

"I know but-

"Gabriel?" Desiree speaks up suddenly, blinking her silverish eyes.

"What?" Claire asks.

"Where Gabriel?"

"Oh. He's out looking for you." Claire tells her. The girl stares at Claire for a moment, confused. Then she threw her head back and laughed. It was the first time Jonas had heard her do it so freely before. She had a pretty laugh, light and full and mirthful. "Mais je ne suis pas à rechercher!"

Claire looked over at Jonas, but he could only shrug.

Keena pulled away from her mother's breast and gave a big yawn. Desiree immediately returned her attention to the child, stroking the fluff on the girl's head and once again offering her child the nipple. But Keena only turned her head and gave an indignant mewl. Getting the idea Desiree returned the breast back inside her dress, and set her daughter up on her shoulder, patting her back diligently. She reminded Jonas of his own wife, how good and sure she had always been with their children. Even with Matthew, she had instinctively known what to do. Desiree also needed no coaching from other mothers, it came naturally to her, being a mother, and she was only fifteen.

"Gabriel coming back soon oui?"

"Oui" Jonas nodded. Desiree gives him a crippling look, making it obvious she wasn't addressing him.

"Bien" she mutters.

"Bien?" Claire asks.

"Good" Jonas translates.

Claire smiles at the child and shakes her head "She has such an attachment to my boy already, and they hardly understand each other."

_What teenage female around here doesn't have an attachment to your son? _Jonas thinks wryly _Why even Stephan's new collie bitch has taken a liking to Gabriel. _He'd seen the pretty cream and white creature follow Gabriel around lately. The boy had taken to calling her Sweetheart, and it had become the dog's name. He knew that Gabriel was dying to have a dog, but his mother had put her foot down on that one.

"I hope it's not too strong an attachment" Jonas warns Claire "Gabriel cares about Desiree, but in the same way I care about you." Claire knew what that meant of course. Jonas loved Claire, in the same respect that he had loved his sister Lily. That it was nothing like the feeling he had for his wife. "It's Deirdre Gabriel has his heart on marrying."

Claire nods "I know, and I'm glad, Gabriel needs a girl that keep him under control. But I don't think Desiree thinks about Gabriel like that. If you ask me she still loves that Tristian fellow."

At the mention of Tristian, Desiree's straightened up and for an instant something dangerous flashed in her stunning eyes. The smile on her face became a smirk, and sat up straight. But it was only for a moment, and then she was shy little Desiree again. "You know King Tristian?" she asks.

"Know of him" Claire tells her "not him personally."

Jonas doesn't think Desiree gets much of what Claire said. Her grip on the Modern Language was impressive, but not extensive. Actually he thinks she hadn't gotten most of what was said to her.

"Ahh mon Tristian. Je ne m'ennuie de lui. Pour avoir longtemps j'ai été de son lit." she smiles and shakes her head.

"What did she say?" Claire asks. Jonas opens his mouth to translate but at that moment Gabriel came crashing through the front door, his pale eyes wild with excitement, his breath coming out in pants. Deirdre and Mentor hot on his heels.

"What on earth?" Claire exclaims "Gabriel!"

"We didn't find the…" Gabriel stops short when he sees Desiree, clutching her child to her, frightened. "You found her?"

"Actually she was never lost. She went to the Worship Center to pray. A fact I discovered while running my inconsequential errand." Jonas explains, smirking at Deirdre who sticks out her tongue.

"That's great" Gabriel huffs "But Jonas we found something else while we were on the forest paths."

"What?" Claire asks.

"A wolf"

"A wolf?" Jonas asks "There are no wolves in Forest."

"Well she's a wolf, no doubt about it, but it seems to be a tame one."

"The Red Kingdom tames wolves, uses them as war wolves." Mentor explains.

"You don't think she's tracking Desiree?" Claire asks looking back at the young lady.

"I doubt it" Mentor snorts.

"Why?"

"Because the wolf was with an older couple, guiding them here. Their names are Chloe and Cael, and they say they are from the Communities. Jonas, the Chloe lady says she knows you."

"Chloe? Yes I knew a Chloe. She was the Giver's attendant."


End file.
